I was going to write a post all about European Christmas Markets because I’ve been to my fair share and I just love them. There’s something about all of the Christmas booths filled with goodies and warm drinks (like vin chaud) that just puts a smile on your face and a skip in your step!
But when I was going through my photos to share about it, I just couldn’t help but to be enchanted by my holiday photos from Vienna.
Now, we all know that I have a special place in my heart for Vienna, Austria. It’s the first place I went out of North America and it was life-changing. I’ve mentioned it on here time and time again, but I’ve not really shared much about the details. Tonight, however, I want to open up a little bit… because…
Vienna during the holidays is just magical.
It’s already a beautiful, classic city at any point of the year, but it’s especially breathtaking during the Christmas season.
When I first studied abroad in Vienna, I was lucky enough to go during the Winter semester and luckily, there were still some decorations up and so I got a little bit of the holiday cheer. Still, those memories pale in comparison to the few days I spent there in December 2010 with my friend, Shauna.
We started off the night by getting warm drinks in a bar-like-tent that was in a courtyard in the Museums Quarter. We got to drink vin chaud’s classier (and ohmygosh tastier) cousin. Mmm, mmm, mmm. Not sure what was in that spiced, mulled wine but it was delicious!
The celebration was made extra fun because Juli, my Austrian best friend, reunited some of our classmates that went to our Austrian high school when I was an exchange student. Catching up with them was very special for me and it was great seeing some familiar, great faces again — eight years later!
The next day, Shauna, Juli, and I set out to discover a little bit of downtown Vienna. We got to see Austria’s take on Santa (or “Father Christmas”). Here’s one example of Vienna Santa: a skinny and not-as-jolly-version who doesn’t have milk and cookies, but does make balloon animals!
We enjoyed slowly strolling through the city center, gazing in windows at the displays and ogling pastries. Everything was festive and even the buildings in Vienna were dressed up for the holidays, like this beautiful one with the bow near Kaertnerstrasse.
As beautiful as Vienna is in the day time, it’s at night when it truly comes alive with the holiday magic. It’s like a million little stars brought down to earth to twinkle within an arm’s reach.
For me, a visit to Vienna isn’t complete unless I stop by Schoenbrunn castle. I had never seen the Christmas markets set up there before and I was excited to see the castle all lit up at night.
At this particular Christmas market, there were loads of booths with unique, handmade crafts…
And of course pretzels… lots and lots of pretzels!
But one of my favorite parts of the visit was being invited as guests to my Austrian high school friends’ private Christmas party.
The night was filled with laughter, lots of good food, tons of mulled wine, some off-key singing to Christmas classics, and friendship.
Oh, how I love Vienna… and these sweetened and spiced pumpkin seeds that I’m hoarding from the rest of the table…
A party in Austria isn’t complete without a hearty Prost! (Cheers!)
And they even got us gifts! But I think the true gift was getting to spend time in the presence of such wonderful people.
There’s something about Vienna that will always have my heart. What a special place! I’m so grateful that I got the opportunity to not only study there for a semester, but return to visit quite a few times — especially this one trip during the holiday season. Frohe Weihnachten!